Hassan-i Sabbah
Hassan-i Sabbāh Homairi '(Persian: حسن صباح ''Hasan-e Sabbāh) or '''Hassan al-Sabbāh (Arabic: حسن الصباح Ḥasan aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ) (1050s-1124) was a Nizārī Ismā‘īlī missionary who founded a cult of Assassins known as the Hashashin. Early Life Qom and Rayy "From the days of my boyhood, from the age of seven, I felt a love for the various branches of learning and wished to become a religious scholar; until the age of seventeen I was a seeker and searcher for knowledge, but kept to the Twelver faith of my father." - Hassan-i Sabbah Hassan-i Sabbāh was born in the city of Qom in Persia in the 1050s to a family of Twelver Shī‘ah. Born and raised in Persia, his father was a Kufan Arab who claimed Yemenite origins, who left the Sawād of Kufa (Iraq) to settle in the town of Qom. Ali, his father, was universally suspected of heretical notions and expressions. He sought, by false confessions and oaths, to prove his orthodoxy to Abumoslem, the governor of the province, a strict Sunni, and afterwards withdrew to a monastery, to lead a life of contemplation. This retirement, however, didn't have the effect of securing him from public report, which at one time accused him of heresy and heterodoxy, at another, of infidelity and atheism. In order to clear himself, as much as possible, from this suspicion, he sent his young son, Hassan, to Nishabur, and Early in his life, his family moved to Rayy. From 7 to 17, he studied at home, and mastered palmistry, languages, philosophy, astronomy and mathematics (especially geometry). Rayy was also home to the activities of Ismā‘īlī missionaries in the Jibal (mountains). At the time, Isma'ilism was a growing movement in Persia and other lands east of Egypt. The Persian Isma'ilis supported the da'wa ("mission") directed by the Fatimid caliphate of Cairo and recognized the authority of the Imam-Caliph al-Mustanṣir (d. 1094), though Isfahan, rather than Cairo, may have functioned as their principal headquarters. The Ismā'īlī mission worked on three layers: the lowest was the foot soldier or fidā'ī (which was added by Hassan-i Sabbah later in his life), followed by the rafīk or "comrade", and finally the Dā‘ī or "missionary". It has been suggested that the popularity of the Ismā'īlī religion in Persia was due to the people's dissatisfaction with the Seljuk rulers, who had recently removed local rulers. In Rayy, a young Hassan came in touch with Amira Darrab, a comrade, who introduced him to the Ismā'īlī doctrine. Hassan was initially unimpressed, his interest gradually grew after participating in many passionate debates that discussed the merits of Imam Ismā‘īl over Imam Mūsā. Seeing the conviction of Darrab, convinced Hassan to delve deeper into Ismā'īlī doctrines and beliefs, ultimately convincing him to see merit in switching to the Ismā‘īlī faith. Training in Cairo "Instead of becoming an unlawful descendant of the Imam I would prefer to be his devoted servant." - Hassan-i Sabbah At the age of 17, Hassan converted and swore allegiance to the Fatimid Caliph in Cairo. Hassan's studies did not end with his crossing over. He further studied under two other dā‘iyyayn, and as he proceeded on his path, he was looked upon with eyes of respect. Hassan's austere and devoted commitment to the da'wa brought him in audience with the chief missionary of the region: ‘Abdu l-Malik ibn Attash. Ibn Attash, suitably impressed with the young seventeen-year-old Hassan, made him Deputy Missionary and advised him to go to Cairo to further his studies. However, Hassan did not go to Cairo. Some historians have postulated that Hassan, following his conversion, was playing host to some members of the Fatimid caliphate, and this was leaked to the anti-Fatimid and anti-Shī‘a vizier Nizam al-Mulk. This prompted his abandoning Rayy and heading to Cairo in 1076. Hassan took about 2 years to reach Cairo. Along the way he toured many other regions that did not fall in the general direction of Egypt. Isfahan was the first city that he visited. He was hosted by one of the Missionaries of his youth, a man who had taught the youthful Hassan in Rayy. His name was Resi Abufasl and he further instructed Hassan. From here he went to Caucasian Albania (current Azerbaijan), hundreds of miles to the north, and from there through Armenia. Here he attracted the ire of priests following a heated discussion, and Hassan was thrown out of the town he was in. He then turned south and traveled through Iraq, reached Damascus in Syria. He left for Egypt from Palestine. Records exist, some in the fragmentary remains of his autobiography, and from another biography written by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani in 1310, to date his arrival in Egypt at 30 August 1078. It is unclear how long Hassan stayed in Egypt: about 3 years is the usually accepted amount of time. He continued his studies here, and became a full missionary. Return to Persia "Though you are Hassan and if I am Momin even then your position is higher than mine. You are in fact very high to the lmam. How am I supposed to take allegiance from you." Momin an Ismaili missionary Whilst he was in Cairo, studying and preaching, he incurred the displeasure of the Chief of the Army, Badr al-Jamalī. This may have been a result of the fact that Hassan supported Nizar, the Ismaili Imam-Caliph al-Mustanṣir's elder son, as the next Imam. Hassan was briefly imprisoned by Badr al-Jamali. The collapse of a minaret (tower often used in mosques) of the jail was taken to be an omen in favor of Hassan and he was promptly released and deported. The ship that he was traveling on was wrecked. He was rescued and taken to Syria. Traveling via Aleppo and Baghdad, he terminated his journey at Isfahan in 1081. Hassan's life now was totally devoted to the mission. Hassan toured extensively throughout Persia. In northern Persia, touching the south shore of the Caspian Sea, are the mountains of Alborz. These mountains were home to a people who had traditionally resisted attempts at Turkish subjugation; this place was also a home of Shī‘a leaning.The news of this Ismā'īlī's activities reached Nizam al-Mulk, who dispatched his soldiers with the orders for Hassan's capture. Hassan evaded them, and went deeper into the mountains. Capture of Alamut His search for a base from which to guide his mission ended when in 1088 he found the castle of Alamut in the Rudbar area (modern 'Qazvin, Persia'). It was a fort that stood guard over a valley that was about fifty kilometers long and five kilometers wide. This fortress had been built about the year 865; legend has it that it was built by a king who saw his eagle fly up to and perch upon a rock, a propitious omen, the importance of which this king, Wah Sudan ibn Marzuban, understood. Likening the perching of the eagle to a lesson given by it, he called the fort Aluh Amu(kh)t: the "Eagles' Teaching". Hassan’s takeover of the fort was conducted without any significant bloodshed. To effect this transition Hassan employed a patient and deliberate strategy, one which took the better part of two years to effect. First Hassan sent his Daʻiyyīn and Rafīks to win over the villages in the valley, and their inhabitants. Next, key people among this populace were converted, and finally, in 1090, Hassan took over the fort by infiltrating it with his converts. Hassan gave the former owner a draft drawn on the name of a wealthy landlord and told him to obtain the promised money from this man; when the landlord saw the draft with Hassan’s signature, he immediately paid the amount to the fort's owner, astonishing him. Three-thousand gold dinars was the probable payment. While legend holds that after capturing Alamut Hassan thereafter devoted himself so faithfully to study, that in the nearly 35 years he was there he never left his quarters, excepting only two times when he went up to the roof. This reported isolation is highly doubtful, given his extensive recruiting and organizational involvement in the growing Ismā'īlī revolts in Persia and Syria. Nonetheless, Hassan was highly educated and was known for austerity (a set of policies with the aim of reducing tax increases), studying, translating, fasting, and directing the activities of the Daʻwa: the propagation of the Nizarī doctrine was headquartered at Alamut. He could quote extensively from the texts of most Muslim sects, and apart from philosophy, was well versed in mathematics, astronomy, alchemy, medicine, architecture, and the major scientific disciplines of his time. In a major departure from tradition, Hassan declared Persian to be the language of holy literature for Nizaris, a decision that resulted in all the Nizari Ismā'īlī literature from Persia, Syria, Afghanistan and Central Asia to be transcribed in Persian for several centuries. From this point on, his community and its branches spread throughout Persia and Syria and came to be called Hashshashin or Assassins, his warriors known as the Fedayin (Meaning 'Men Who Accept Death'). Two years after taking Alamut, he ordered his Assassins to kill Nizam al-Mulk and made an alliance with the Seljuk ruler of Aleppo, Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan. Fakhr would hire Hassan's fida'is at least twice. Two or three years before his death, he allegedly instructed the assassination of Fatimad Vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah. Sources Hassan is thought to have written an autobiography, which did not survive but seems to underlie the first part of an anonymous Isma'ili biography entitled Sarguzasht-e Sayyidnā (Persian: سرگذشت سیدنا‎‎) "The Story of our Master". The latter is known only from quotations made by later Persian authors. Hassan also wrote a treatise, in Persian, on the doctrine of ta'līm, called, al-Fusul al-arba'a The text is no longer in existence, but fragments are cited or paraphrased by al-Shahrastānī and several Persian historians. He is the original Grand Master creating many of the Hashashin's main principles and foundations. Artistic Depictions of Hassan-i Sabbah Fedayins-jumpin-off-alamut-fortress.jpg MarcoPoloAlamout.jpg Hassan-i Sabbah.jpg Allegations and Criticisms against Hassan-i Sabbah Many allegations were and still are being made against Hassan to the effect that he was blood thirsty and through his 'Fidais' he had made lives of people repressed and restless. Supporters of Hassan would claim that this is not true. That the only true purpose and meaning of recruiting an army of Fida'is was to protect Ismailis from the foil and destructive attacks of enemies. The very significant example of this is his human behavior with Sultan Sanjar. If Sayyidna Hassan wished to, he would not have forgone the opportunity of slaying him, for he only wanted him to get horrified and give up the siege. Another of the allegations against him is that he murdered Nizamul Mulk through one of his Fida'is. However, some claim he was murdered by Sultan Malik Shah. One possible reason could be because the Sultan was afraid of his increasing powers to his detriments. Another reason is that Malik Shah was already in the influence of Ismaili concept, and he was in contradiction to the vindicative nature of Nizamul Mulk against Ismaili faith. The third and main reason was that Turkan Khatun, wife of Malik Shah was deadly against Nizamul Mulk for she wanted her son, Mahmood, to succeed Malik Shah and it was not possible with the deviation of Nizamul Mulk, who had made it clear to Turkan Khatun that son of Malik Shah's cousin Zubeda, Barruk bin Dawood, was to succeed Malik Shah, as he had the qualities of wisdom befitting a ruler and also belonged to Saljuq dynasty. For this Turkan Khatun poisoned the ears of Sultan against Nizamul Mulk and Malik Shah got him murdered and this became the reason of downfall of the famous position of Wizarat and murder of Nizamul Mulk. In the face of this, it is still possible that Hassan ordered the assassination of Nizam al-Mulk because of the Alamut siege and the order for his arrest. One more allegation made against Hassan is that he was desirous of acquiring political power and strength and for that he had disguised himself in the cloak of Nizari Da'wat. But supporters would argue that he had no such aims and historians agree that neither he himself had been addicted to alcohol nor did he allow anybody to do so. He intended Ismailis to be as firm in faith as he himself was. He had inculcated the habit of earning their livelihood through hard work and toil and his wife and children and himself were leading a simple life. The effect of this was that his command to faithful was carried out immediately and the glory that credited Hassan is not to be found for anybody else in the pages of history. Trivia * Hassan may have had a near death experience when he became dangerously ill at the age of 34, he began to fear that he might die without knowing the truth. Near death experiences are associated with changes in personality and outlook on life. Category:Lords of Alamut